When good TV goes bad: Goodnight Sweetheart

At the start the sitcom was a compelling comment on male insecurity, but it soon descended into cartoonish plotlinesThe 1990s were an innocent time. Tony Blair was a god, Donald Trump was a joke and the world felt hopeful. It really did seem as though things could only get better. In 1992, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama went so far as to publish a book called The End of History and the Last Man arguing that the triumph of liberal democracy marked a new age of stable government and sunlit uplands. The only real worry was whether you preferred Blur or Oasis. So it was perhaps inevitable that into this comfortable stupor popped Gary Sparrow, a time-travelling bigamist TV repair engineer from Cricklewood.Gary, played by the affable Nicholas Lyndhurst, was the protagonist of Goodnight Sweetheart, one of the most successful sitcoms of that halcyon decade. In it, Gary is a man behaving boringly who is unsure about his role in this confusing modern world where women like his wife Yvonne have the temerity to study psychology instead of cook his dinner. Luckily, he discovers that he can leave this hellish peace and equality behind and travel back to the more exciting East End of the early 40s, where men were men and innocent people died by the thousand. He then does what any of us would do if we’d just discovered the secret of time travel, and shags the first person he sees. This person is Phoebe, a pub landlord’s daughter, who becomes Gary’s other wife. And so begins his... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-01 12:00:23 UTC ]
News tagged with: #travel back #time travel #high concept

Other Publishing stories related to: 'When good TV goes bad: Goodnight Sweetheart'


Streaming TV, Films Drive Surge In Graphic Novel Sales

Many of the biggest hits on such streaming services as Netflix and Disney+ have been adapted from comics and graphic novels. Publishers have learned to scramble to be sure the books these shows are based on are available when demand spikes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #graphic novels #streaming services #graphic novel


Wendy McMahon, Neeraj Khemlani Named Co-Chiefs of CBS News and CBS TV Studios

In a major restructuring, CBS is combining the journalistic and businesses resources of CBS News and the CBS Television Stations, and tapping a pair of executives from outside the company to jointly run it. Days after reports swirled that Susan Zirinsky would be stepping down as the CBS News... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2021-04-15 21:01:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cbs news #major restructuring #hearst newspapers #hearst


Stop being ‘nice’, start doing good: 15 steps to doing better

Having collected views from Black people across the publishing industry for the past year, the Black Agents and Editors’ Group has outlined 15 steps for how those in the trade can do better. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 07:18:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black people #publishing industry


Park Chan-wook is directing a TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer.

Exciting adaptation news: A24 and Rhombus Media have optioned the rights to Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer, Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning debut novel about a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who serves as a communist double agent after the fall of Saigon. The novel is being developed... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-07 14:34:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #park chan-wook #tv adaptation #pulitzer-winning debut #television series #debut novel


New Pilkey Title Leads a Good Week for Book Sales

An early 2021 Easter, combined with declining sales last spring as the pandemic heated up, resulted in a huge gain in unit sales of print books for the week ended March 28, 2021, over the comparable week last year at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good week #book sales #declining sales #huge gain #print books


Who should star in the TV adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Kindred?

You may have noticed that here at Literary Hub, we’re pretty big fans of Octavia Butler—and especially of Kindred, arguably her most famous novel. So we were very excited by the recent news that that 42-year-old book is finally getting an adaptation: FX has recently ordered a pilot, which was... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-19 14:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary hub #recent news #macarthur fellow #pulitzer prize


Amazon loses its head of Fire TV, Kindle and Luna to Unity

After a five-year stint, Marc Whitten — the man in charge of Fire TV, the Kindle and more — has stepped down as Amazon's VP of entertainment devices and services. News of Whitten's departure was spotted yesterday by consultant Matthew Ball o... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2021-02-25 17:27:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fire tv #kindle


Huq's Cookie stories set for TV

A live action TV series based on Konnie Huq's Cookie stories is to be produced, following a deal secured by Zodiak Kids Studios.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-19 04:24:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #konnie huq


Cast confirmed for TV version of Rooney's Conversations with Friends

Actors Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane, Jemima Kirke and Joe Alwyn are to star in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel, Conversations with Friends (Faber.)  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-17 23:11:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sally rooney #tv version #tv adaptation


TV, OOH and radio set to drive return to media inflation

Big offline channels are forecast to outpace digital media this year, with the exception of print. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2021-02-17 09:42:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital media


HarperFiction plucks King's Bad Fruit in five-way auction

HarperFiction has snapped up debut author and Faber Academy graduate Ella King's "beautiful, shocking" Bad Fruit in a five-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-16 18:31:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Was ‘60 Minutes’ TV’s Most Toxic Workplace?

“Ticking Clock,” a new memoir by Ira Rosen, a former producer for the show, recounts the newsmagazine’s pathbreaking journalism and its culture of harassment and abuse. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-02-16 10:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #toxic workplace #ticking clock #memoir


Welbeck bags historical fiction series from TV's Dr Hilary Jones

Welbeck Publishing Group has acquired an epic historical fiction series by Dr Hilary Jones, the general practitioner and media doctor.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-12 01:43:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical fiction


Novelists are writing for TV more than ever. How it's changing the industry

Over the past 20 years, industry shifts have funneled more novelists into TV rooms than ever. It's salutary in many ways — beginning with health insurance. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-02-11 15:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #novelists


Claire Danes to star in Essex Serpent TV adaptation

Claire Danes has been cast as the lead role in the screen adaptation of The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (Serpent's Tail). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-10 23:44:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lead role #screen adaptation #essex serpent


Miramax snaps up TV rights in forthcoming Rosenberg biography

TV rights for historian Anne Sebba’s biography of Ethel Rosenberg, the only woman in the US to be executed for a crime other than murder, have been snapped up by Miramax Films.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-10 12:16:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv rights


David Duchovny wants to be taken seriously as a novelist. His new book makes a good case.

“Truly Like Lightning” is an irreverent and ambitious tale that shows off the “X-Files” actor’s literary chops. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-01 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #david duchovny #book makes


Why Climate Coverage Is Good Business at The Financial Times

The Financial Times is debuting a vertical dedicated to climate coverage, the publisher announced this morning. The move comes as the organization seeks to increase retention rates and drive subscriptions. "We think about value in two ways," head of digital editorial development Renee Kaplan... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2021-01-28 05:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #climate coverage #good business #drive subscriptions #publisher announced


The magic question: can a Harry Potter TV show work?

News of a Harry Potter show in early development at HBO Max begs the question: what can justify another extension to an already stretched universe?When I saw the news, reported by the Hollywood Reporter, that HBO Max was in talks to develop live-action Harry Potter television series, all details... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-25 21:19:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sixth installment #transphobic views #jk rowling #harry potter


Reputation Reparo! A Harry Potter TV series is in early development at HBO Max.

The Hollywood Reporter announced this morning that a new Harry Potter series is in early development at HBO Max. Though HBO Max and Warner Bros. said in a statement that “there are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” multiple sources have confirmed... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 18:25:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #early development #hbo max #warner bros #streaming platform #multiple sources #harry potter